In a previous post we released a document purported to be an "amendment" to the Board of Education-Pearson Education, Inc. contract of June 8, 2010. That document showed that on November 4, 2010 the Pearson payment to MCPS had been cut from $4.5 million to $1.25 million.

But the beauty of doing things behind closed doors, without Board of Education approval, and without public disclosure is that no one ever realizes what is actually going on! Not even the media.

And so, on January 18, 2012, when the Gazette newspaper ran an article about Superintendent Jerry Weast taking a trip to Australia in the summer of 2010 courtesy of the Pearson Foundation, they repeated the $4.5 million payment figure as if it was fact.

Now we know that after Superintendent Weast took the Pearson Foundationtrip to Australia he came back and cut a new deal with Pearson Education, Inc.

In May of 2011, this blog reported that it appeared that the terms of the Pearson deal had changed. We now have the documentation to show that the $4.5 million in development funds that were part of the June 8, 2010 contract were reduced to $1.25 million by Superintendent Jerry Weast on November 4, 2010.

Below is the document that Superintendent Weast signed without a public Board of Education vote, that purports to "amend" the June 8, 2010 contract and reduce Pearson's development fund payment from $4.5 million to $1.25 million.

Can a Superintendent simply "amend" a contract that has been approved by the Board of Education? Where is the MCPS Press Release announcing this "exciting" change to the original contract?

Didn't Superintendent Weast say that we needed the Pearson contract because "we are broke?"

Here is the section of the Pearson-Montgomery County Board of Education contract that has been changed:

A. Contribution Toward Development Costs

Subject to the Program Development Plan, Publisher shall contribute to the development costs by paying to MCPS the sum of$4,500,000 [$1,250,000]United States Dollars in the aggregate ("Development Funds"), and shall pay to MCPS, as the first installment of the Development Funds, the sum of $625,000 United States Dollars within thirty (30) days of the date hereof. The schedule of the payment of the remainder of the Development Funds shall be detailed in the Program Development Plan, and shall be payable in installments on a quarterly basis based on completion of specified milestones . As further detailed in the Program Development Plan, one-half of the aggregate Development Funds payable to MCPS shall be considered an advance on royalties (the "Advance") and recoupable by Publisher as set forth in Section 8E below.

Below is the letter from Superintendent Jerry Weast to the President of Pearson, Inc. purporting to reduce the Pearson payment to MCPS from $4.5 million to $1.25 million. Amended Pearson Contract

A groundbreaking film festival presented for the first time in the Greater Washington area by the Washington DCJCC, JCC of Greater Washington and JCC of Northern Virginia

REELAbilities is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities from a variety of communities. Award-winning films are accompanied by discussion and other engaging programs, which bring together the community to explore, discuss and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

This past week I spoke with a staff member of the Montgomery County Planning Department to get an update on the Pulte property which may be the subject of the ‘land swap’ for construction of the new Farquhar Middle School. The Planning Department has received the plats for the development from the engineer for Pulte, the developers and owners of the property. Staff reviewed the plats and determined that the plats do comply with the Preliminary Plan and with the Site Plan. This is not a recordation of the plats; those have to be approved by the Director of the Department of Permitting Services (DPS). That process can take up to 3-4 weeks.

The Planning Board is scheduled to hear the staff report on Thursday, February 9th, 2012. The item is on the Consent Agenda, which means it will be part of a group of items the Planning Board will hear and vote on. Usually there is no discussion with Consent Agenda items.

The Planning Board agenda for February 9th is here. The staff report is also up on the Planning Board website, you can read it here.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Alcohol tax funds that were to benefit adults with developmental disabilities were diverted by the legislature to projects such as plastic football fields in Howard County.

"I just want to make sure you that you all think that the two turf fields are priority projects … more important than classrooms," Franchot said.Kopp noted that "others have wondered offhand about the turf fields."

At the County Council hearing on the OLO Autism report the other day, the conversation veered off into special education dispute resolution. Dr. Starr stated, repeating an earlier theme, that he doesn't want to hear anecdotes, but that he wants Data and Facts.

Nevertheless, the current superintendent has responsiblity for the actions that have occurred since
he arrived on the scene in July. Dr. Starr's statement that there were "only" 120 dispute resolution requests last year doesn't include the 27 state complaints from FY 2011, which is the "poor man's" method of dispute resolution since MCPS embarked on its "scorched earth" special education dispute resolution
policy during the Weast years.

...“I think my first concern when I took over this team three years ago was [kids from] four schools that are in the same county but not necessarily know one another,” Slade said. “How are they going to gel? Are their school rivalries within the team?”Luckily there have been no such issues, Slade said, but cohesion is a concern on a yearly basis.What the coach hopes helps that issue is a fun and fair environment he creates for the team.“Any person [from QO, Poolesville, Northwest, or Seneca Valley] that would like to play hockey can come out,” Slade said. “We take everyone, everyone plays regardless of skill.”Among those players is a special needs student from QO, who Slade said “is very excited to play with us.”...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Thanks to The Baltimore Sun for investigating the number of homeless students in the state of Maryland and passing along the Montgomery County information to the Parents' Coalition.

In 2011, there were 657 students in Montgomery County that were classified as homeless.

In 2005, there were 475 students in Montgomery County that were classified as homeless.

In 2011, Montgomery County had the 6th highest number of homeless students in the state of Maryland out of 24 counties. At the top of the list was Prince George's County, then Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Wicomico County, Anne Arundel County and then Montgomery County.

...The largest increases in homeless populations are notable for where they are occurring: in the suburban rings around cities.Anne Arundel County has seen a 231 percent increase in homeless students since 2005, Baltimore County a 140 percent increase and Howard County a 150 percent increase. The increase in Baltimore City, which still has the largest number of homeless students, was 75 percent...

...The board wants to "get everybody to focus on the fact that this is part of our educational mission" and that "we are clear that every kid counts," DeGraffenreidt said.

In addition to reducing suspensions, the board is proposing to eliminate expulsions except in the case of students who have a firearm.Eight percent of students in the state were suspended last school year, DeGraffenreidt said, and half the suspensions were for nonviolent offenses, such as disrespect or defacing school property. Minority and special education students are far more likely to be suspended than their peers. Board members believe there is a link between the high suspension rate for those groups and low achievement."In disproportionate numbers, the very students who are lagging behind are those who are being suspended," DeGraffenreidt said...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

"As the number of Montgomery students diagnosed with autism has increased by more than sixfold over the past decade, educators are grappling with the best ways to teach them and satisfy concerned parents.

Special education officials reported successes in educating the roughly 1,650 students on the autism spectrum last year, but admitted to the Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee on Monday that the way principals and teachers work with those students and their parents varies among schools, a problem that needed to be corrected.

A Westbrook Elementary School parent who addressed the committee, Julie Reiley, said she had encountered “great providers” for her child with autism, but also said she did not think schools consistently collaborated with parents in a positive way, and that the services originally promised in special education meetings were not always delivered, at least initially.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Finding 4: Council staff was not provided updated information regarding projected health benefit costs at the time the final Council decision on the MCPS appropriation was made.
Up to date information related to the estimated costs of health benefits was important to the BOE's and the Council's decisions regarding the funding required for the MCPS contribution for employee health benefits. We determined that, at the time Council made its decision regarding appropriations for MCPS, the Council staff had only the operating budget request documents explained above and the Monthly Financial Reports available for analysis. Information regarding the downwardly revised estimates of health benefits costs could not have been gleaned from the Monthly Financial Reports and was not available in any other document provided to Council staff prior to the time information was presented to the Council Education Committee for review and consideration or prior to May 26, 2011, when the Council voted on the MCPS appropriation.

For more than a decade now, Montgomery County Public Schools has issued a "Call to Action" annual report. The report origins go back to the early years of Superintendent Jerry Weast, who retired last year...

How do cell phone towers (telecommunications transmission facilities) spring up in Montgomery County without any notification to neighbors?This topic was the subject of the January 9, 2012, Montgomery County Civic Federation meeting. Below is the video of the presentation by the panel. The three presenters were:

“I think sometimes the perception of the larger community out there is that we do a lot in secret or that we’re just waiting around to pounce on any ballparks we can take,” he said. “And that’s simply not true.”

Montgomery County Council member Craig L. Rice wants answers from the school board about why black male students are still lagging behind their peers when it comes to academic performance.

At a lunch meeting Tuesday between the council and board, Rice, who is black, asked why more has not been done to address the problem.

Board Vice President Christopher S. Barclay (D-Dist. 4) of Takoma Park, who is also black, responded by saying that he is focused on the black male graduation rate, which in 2010 was 73.6 percent, according to state data, compared to the school system’s overall 86.2 percent graduation rate. White males, by contrast, graduated at a 92.7 percent rate, but Hispanic males fared worst among male students at 69.1 percent.

Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown appeared to brush this off and reiterated his concern by saying, “We’re not doing anything.”

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The is the only audio or video that is available to the public of the January 17, 2012 lunch meeting between the Montgomery County Council and the Montgomery County Board of Education. The recording begins a few minutes into the meeting as the attendees finish the buffet of sandwiches, sodas and desserts.

Topics include Superintendent Joshua Starr telling the Council what works in school reform, Councilmember Nancy Floreen on school size, Councilmember Valerie Ervin on food for children, Councilmember Marc Elrich on education fads, Board of Ed member Judy Docca on being "slapped around" by "other administration", also Docca on how Maryland is #1 because of MCPS (don't tell the other counties), and Councilmember Craig Rice on the achievement gap (bet you thought the gap was closed didn't you).

Parents Coalition has learned that the “swap’ property is still owned by Pulte, the land developer of the proposed subdivision.While the property is owned by Pulte, the title change could occur as late as two years after the subdivision plan has been approved; or within a month or two from now.Grading and site preparation for the new residential construction has already begun, however, no actual construction can occur until the plats are recorded.

Regarding the actual MCPS/M-NCPPC (Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) swap, both parties are meeting now to work out the terms and conditions.According to Parks staff, MCPS has agreed to pay for the demolition of the existing school building; M-NCPPC also expects MCPS to pay for demolition of the extra parking lot areas, which M-NCPPC will not want on the public park.However, they now plan to retain the existing ball fields, which Parks would want in a public park.The exchange would be ‘like for like’ including MCPS adding appropriate topsoil and seed mixture on the proposed swap property; and MCPS would be required to remove all of the demolished material.That is, MCPS would not be allowed to demolish, leave the debris, and bulldoze over it to use as subsurface of the park property.All the demolished material would be removed.

A stream buffer will be in place and of course MCPS cannot do anything within the stream buffer.

Once the terms and conditions are worked out, Parks staff will bring them to the Planning Board for discussion and approval or changes or denial.The terms and conditions must also be approved by the entire M-NCPPC, not just our county Planning Board.

While the terms and conditions meetings are now taking place at the staff level, I am curious as to whether anyone in the neighborhood has been attending these meetings.These meetings of course are open to anyone; anyone can attend.Have you attended?Comments here please!

Superintendent Joshua Starr confirming that MCPS does not have a recess policy, and thus when MCPS staff filled out the application for a $66,000 award from the US Department of Agriculture the answer to the question about recess should have been NO.

The Board of Education operating budget hearings were conducted on Wednesday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The Cluster Coordinators testified before the Board of Education regarding the operating budget needs of our schools.

Nominees for Cluster Coordinators and Area Vice President for 2012-2013

Saturday, January 14, 2012

""The results that have been attained in Montgomery County are nothing short of phenomenal," said Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke. "Over a period of approximately 12 years, they were able to raise the bar for all of their kids while simultaneously closing the 'achievement gap.'""

****************Phenomenal? Is the Achievement Gap in MCPS really closed?

Friday, January 13, 2012

You know the Paul Simon song. Well, here in Montgomery County we have our own version of the song. It has to do with what the Board of Education is told at public Board meetings.

Here's today's example of how the Board of Education may not always be getting the most accurate information as they deliberate and vote.

The following is part of a Public Information Act response from the MCPS Public Information officer.

Yellow is added to highlight the important parts of this response from MCPS. #1 is the question that the citizen asked, and the italicized response from MCPS is below.

I [Dana Tofig, Director] am responding to your December 7, 2011, Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request regarding the site selection process for the Bethesda Chevy Chase Middle School #2. I am responding on behalf of the superintendent of schools who, as official custodian of records for the school system, is responsible for replies under the Maryland Public Information Act, Maryland State Government Article §§10-611, et seq.

Responses to your specific requests are as follows:

1. At the Board of Education meeting on April 28th, 2011, Mr. James Song, director, Department of Facilities Management, stated that approximately 50 sites were originally considered for the site of-the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) Middle School #2. I have requested that list of sites from Mr. Song but I have not yet received it.

Mr. Song’s reference to "approximately 50 sites" being considered for the site of the new B-CC Middle School #2 was an estimate meant to convey the thoroughness of the review of site options. MCPS staff used Geographic Information System technology to assist in a review of available land in the B-CC Cluster. Based on this review, 10 candidate sites were identified and were the only sites considered by the Site Selection Advisory Committee (SSAC). The 10 candidate sites reviewed in the first site selection process plus any additional candidate sites that are identified by members of the SSAC will be presented at the first meeting.

...Representatives of the Brickyard Coalition cited an e-mail between David Dise, director of the Montgomery County Department of General Services, and Kassa Seyoum, capital projects manager, dated Sept. 30, 2010, which states: "I [David Dise] met with Roger Berliner this afternoon who asked that we postpone the Brickyard Road component until he has time to prep residents ...."Potomac residents were not made aware of the decision until March 2011 and voiced their frustrations at Wednesday’s meeting...

...On the reading test, 40 percent of eighth-grade students scored proficient or advanced on the 2011 test, giving the state a seventh place ranking. (Maryland and the nation still have a lot of room to improve).But the so-called “poverty gap,” or the difference in scores between those eligible for free lunches and those not eligible, was much less favorable.The 27-point difference in scores was about the national average. Thirty-seven states had a narrower gap.Forty percent of eighth-grade students in Maryland also scored proficient or advanced on the math test, putting the state in 13th place.But the 32-point “poverty gap” in scores was significantly higher than the 26-point national average. Maryland came in second-to-last.

Read the full Washington Post article at this link. Note that former Superintendent Jerry Weast now sits on the Board of Trustees for Education Week, the organization that did the ranking.

I’m glad that as a Montgomery County Public School employee, I knew Mr. Nix. For more than a year in the late 1980s, I served as a consultant to a NAACP Blue Ribbon Panel that Mr. Nix established to examine why so few black males enrolled in and graduated from Maryland colleges and universities. And I have defended Mr. Nix’s role in putting race on the MCPS table—long before Jerry Weast arrived in our county....

The 11th largest public school system in the country is conducting a PUBLIC superintendent search.11th largest.That's a bigger public school system thanworld class-Baldridge Montgomery County Public Schools.It's Palm Beach County in Florida.What are these people thinking?They are conducting a PUBLIC Superintendent search. PUBLIC as in the NAMES (GASP!!) of the 25 candidates AND their RESUMES (HORRORS!) are posted on the school systems website for the PUBLIC to review.

Palm Beach County

Here, see for yourself by clicking this link. But cover your eyes. Here in world class-Baldridge land we aren't allowed to know this kind of super secret information. Read more about this very public superintendent search in this Palm Beach Post News article.

In progressive Montgomery County, Maryland our Board of Education conducts superintendent searches the "right" way! They do it in secret, even if they have to violate the Maryland Open Meetings Act! What role does the public have in a public school anyway?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

If you are interested in running for a Montgomery County Board of Education seat, do not use the Montgomery County Board of Elections website to determine your Board of Education district. The MC Board of Elections website has not been updated since the Maryland Legislature scrambled the Montgomery County Board of Education districts.

Call the Board of Elections directly at 240-777-8502 to determine your Board of Education district.

There are 3 seats up for election this year. 2 seats require candidates to live in specific "districts". Call the Board of Elections at the above phone number to see if you qualify for a district seat. And, 1 seat is an "at-large" seat and anyone in Montgomery County can file to run for that seat.

As of today, there will NOT be a Board of Education Primary election because there aren't enough candidates up for any of the seats.

Monday, January 9, 2012

1) The Monthly Financial Reports MCPS provides to County elected leaderspresent the estimated year-end financial results of MCPS relative to thebudget. The reports display differences between amounts budgeted andestimates of revenues and expenditures but should present more completeactual revenue and expenditure data for analysis.

2) The actual information reported in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) differs from the data presented as “actual” in the operating budget submissions.MCPS is able to reconcile the amounts but reconciliations are not presentedin MCPS documents. Internal service fund information is only presented in the CAFR.

3) Although Maryland State law requires that the County appropriate funds by specified categories, and that the BOE request and report by these categories (as it does in the Monthly Financial Reports and the CAFR), fewer than 25 out of over 1,000 pages in the MCPS operating budget present data related to the State categories. The budget documents do not clearly link the State categories to the operating or program budget data.The presentation makes it difficult to evaluate the request by State categories and determine the impact of funding decisions. However, we noted that in the December, 2011 submission of the Superintendent’s FY2013 Operating Budget, MCPS included a new pie chart addressing “Where the Money Goes by State Category.”

4) At the time the Council made its final decision on the MCPS appropriation for FY 2012, the Council staff had not been provided updated information regarding the projected health benefits costs in FY 2011. The information was not presented to the Council Education Committee or the Council for review and consideration.

It's a new low for the Montgomery County Board of Education...At the January 10, 2012 Board of Education meeting the Board will vote to proceed with requesting that a piece of farmland in Germantown be condemned for use as a school site.

Northwest Cluster

Initially, think about the legal bills that the taxpayers of Montgomery County will be footing to fund this legal process. Estimate of cost, anyone? Remember the Board of Education legal advice comes via no-bid contract awards. Anyone know what taxpayers are paying an hour for these firms to give legal advice to the Board of Education? Then, take a look at the list of properties the Board of Education already owns. Remember that many sites are leased out to private entities, and one site in particular is being preserved for use by Comcast and cell tower companies rather than used for public school purposes.

Close up of NW Cluster

The land the Board of Education wants condemned is in the Northwest Cluster. It is farmland. See images for an up close look at the Northwest Cluster of public schools. The land is known as the Phillips Farm and is shown with a yellow marker in the center of the Google Map below. Click on any of the images to enlarge them for easier viewing. You might know this farm. It's just 2 miles down the road from the Soccer Plex.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Remember how MCPS and M-NCPPC decided to form a Joint Working Group to tackle the sticky issue of MCPS designating park sites as school sites? What ever happened to that Joint Working Group? Did it meet? Who is in the "group"? Well, MCPS and M-NCPPC took the Joint Working Group behind closed doors so there haven't been any meeting announcements or press coverage on the work of this group.

What better way to discuss this important issue than behind closed doors? As Board member Patricia O'Neill says, the public can be such PIAs. Better to have meetings that aren't announced to the public and don't allow the press access to cover the work of the group.

But the Parents' Coalition thought you should know what this very important Joint Working Group has been up to behind closed doors.

So, here are the minutes of the heretofore secret M-NCPPC/MCPS Joint Working Group on school site selection. See below for the agendas, members, minutes and meeting dates.

By the way, the next meeting of this group is January 9, 2012 from 3 PM - 5PM at the MCPS Department of Facilities Management.

UPDATE: Sunday, January 8, 2012:It seems that some of the MABE links on Maintenance of Effort have become disabled since the original posting. To see the MABE legislative position on Maintenance of Effort, click HERE.

To see the MABE proposed amendments on the MOE "funding floor", CLICK HERE.

Our tax dollars, via the dues that the Board of Education pays, are being used to develop these platforms. Don't you think we should be permitted to read them?
***************************************

Interestingly, Valerie Ervin gave a presentation at the same conference, on Montgomery County's experience during the last budget cycle with the maintenance of effort issue. You can read her entire presentation HERE.(Just scroll down to the list of presentations, and click on it).

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Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What the Gazette said about the Parents' Coalition

It has taken a watchdog outside group, the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, to ferret out this waste. The coalition, driven by its sharp curiosity, frequently uses the Maryland Public Information Act to request public records and keep track of district decisions and spending.

We commend the coalition for its important work on this front. It is saving county residents money as inappropriate spending has been uncovered.

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

MD Open Meetings Act Compliance Board staff says

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."